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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

A Glimpse at Wargames Past

Back in that annals of time before I played my first session of D&D, there was a wargaming company called SPI. That company was eventually -- and some would argue tragically -- purchased by TSR the roleplaying game giant before that company was purchased by Wizards of the Coast...and so on. The company produced a number of classic wargames and was renowned for its tremendous output and for the overall quality of its games. You can still buy many updated copies of their games from Decision Games and find many of their lost classics on eBay, some at a reasonable price.

Non-miniature wargaming is an interesting hobby. It can be exciting, but it can also be daunting to try to attempt a new player to join in the joy of Kriegsspiel. Perusing the internet this evening, I found this old short video by SPI promoting the hobby. Check out the game around 1:10. How can you look at that set up and not think to yourself the following? "Man! Damn casuals don't know what they are missing!"

All I know is that I cannot wait until History and Mystery are old enough to give these great old games a try. Maybe I'll start with Strike Force One. It's recommended at the end of the video, is still available from Victory Point Games, and I own a copy.